Success for Phoebe Mather in the Employment Tribunal for whistleblowing doctor

Kings Chambers employment barrister Phoebe Mather has successfully represented a Claimant doctor at a four-day Final Hearing in the Employment Tribunal. The three-member Tribunal panel found that the Claimant had both been automatically unfairly dismissed and subjected to detriment for having blown the whistle.

The Facts

The Claimant was a General Practitioner at a GP practice (the Respondent). The practice was a member of a Primary Care Network (the Network) which had contractual obligations with, and was funded by, NHS England to provide specific services to patients. The contract detailed obligations on the Network to provide an ‘Enhanced Access Service’ (EAS). The EAS provides patients with access to clinical appointments with GPs outside of normal surgery hours. The Respondent was obliged to provide some of the EAS using the public funding it received from the PCN.

The Claimant became aware that the Respondent’s Managing Partner had not been opening the EAS to patients for some time and raised concerns with the Practice Manager and Managing Partner. Following this, the Respondent invited the Claimant to a meeting where she was told that her agreed working arrangements could no longer be accommodated. Due to her distinct personal circumstances, the Claimant required a level of remote working which the Respondent had been aware of from the outset of the Claimant’s employment. The Respondent therefore knew that the Claimant would not be able to comply with its newly purported need for total on-site working. Remarkably, termination of the Claimant’s employment was also openly discussed at the meeting. Subsequent correspondence to the Claimant reiterated the removal of the Claimant’s agreed working arrangements.

The Findings

The Tribunal heard evidence from the Claimant, Practice Manager and Managing Partner.

The Tribunal found that the Claimant made several protected disclosures (whistleblowing) in relation to the commission of a criminal offence, the failure to comply with legal obligations and endangerment to health and safety of individuals (finding that the intention of the EAS is to help relieve the burden on other arms of the NHS such as NHS111 and A&E).

The Tribunal found that the Respondent’s repeated attempts to remove the Claimant’s remote working effectively amounted to the Claimant being told she would be dismissed and amounted to detriments for having made protected disclosures.

The Tribunal also found that the Claimant had been automatically unfairly dismissed by the Managing Partner in that the main or principal reason for the dismissal was that the Claimant had made protected disclosures. The Claimant’s eight-page dismissal letter, which had alleged that the reason for dismissal was some other substantial reason, was found to have included various matters that amounted to ‘padding’ and was a clumsy attempt to disguise the real reason for dismissal.

Phoebe also successfully argued that the Claimant did not contribute to her dismissal, that she would not have been fairly dismissed in any event or at a time shortly after (meaning there was no Polkey reduction) and that the Respondent had abjectly failed to comply with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

A remedy hearing has been listed for early 2027.

Phoebe is a specialist employment barrister. Having been a Legal Officer at the UK’s whistleblowing charity Protect before practising at the Bar, Phoebe has particular expertise in whistleblowing law and the UK’s whistleblowing framework.

Phoebe was instructed by Tom Capper of JMW Solicitors.

Gareth Williams, Director of BMA legal services, said:

“This GP has shown immense bravery in standing up for what she knew to be right and the BMA has been proud to support their case. Doctors must be able to raise concerns without fear, yet too many still face a culture of blame, intimidation, and, in some cases, such as this, direct retaliation for speaking up. Clearly, more needs to be done to prevent this. We continue to call for clearer accountability and reforms that ensure whistleblowers are protected.”